Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India’s Office for Environment and Climate Change welcomed the Indian government’s climate targets for 2035.

“I commend the government’s updated climate commitments as they build on the success of surpassing renewable energy targets ahead of time and commit to increasing carbon sinks through expanded forest and tree cover,” said Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, a retired Mumbai auxiliary bishop. He told UCA News:

As a faith-based leader, I believe in ecological stewardship, sustainable living, and development that is anchored in the sanctity of the deep web of interconnectedness between the Creator, nature, and human beings. This relationship has been disrupted, placing us on the brink of a planetary crisis.

HarperCollins announced the upcoming publication of Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, a book by US Vice President JD Vance on his Christian faith, including his conversion to Catholicism.

“To summarize this book: I’m a Christian, and I became a Christian because I believe that Jesus Christ’s teachings are true,” Vice President Vance said. “But I didn’t always think that, and by sharing my journey I might be helpful to others—Catholic, Protestant, or otherwise—who are seeking reconciliation with God.”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom published a report on attacks on Christians by Islamist terrorists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The report, released on March 30, focuses on the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist rebel group.

Speaking with journalists as he concluded his weekly visit to Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo said, “I’m told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war.”

“Hopefully he’s looking for an ‘off-ramp,’” the Pope continued. “Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that’s being created and that’s increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere.”

The Pontiff urged world leaders to “come back to the table, to dialogue. Let’s look for solutions to problems, let’s look for ways to reduce the amount of violence that we’re promoting, that peace—especially at Easter—might reign in our hearts.”

Speaking with the French news channel CNews, Cardinal Robert Sarah said, “I understand that the Pope is concerned about this liturgical unity. It is not a place for battle. We have made it a place of battle, of combat. That is how we destroy the liturgy.”

Cardinal Sarah, who served as the prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 until 2021, added that “the Church is nothing without God.”

“God must truly be placed at the center of our existence, at the center of our life, at the centre of our concerns,” he said. “If we detach the Church from this mission … the Church is useless.”

The Pope’s April 2026 prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, is “let us pray together for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.”

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life announced the cancellation of the Second World Children’s Day, originally scheduled to take place in Rome from September 25 to 27.

“All initiatives aimed at the pastoral care of children may be celebrated, at the discretion of the Ordinaries, at a diocesan or parish level and with the involvement of families, the proper place for the human and spiritual growth of every child,” the dicastery said in its announcement.

Last November, Pope Leo announced the dates of the Second World Children’s Day. (The first was held in 2024.) In February, the Pope abolished the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day.

Commenting on Pope Leo’s message for the upcoming World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a Vatican official emphasized the importance of fostering the interior life in vocation ministry.

Archbishop Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli, the secretary of the Dicastery for the Clergy, told the Vatican newspaper that “pausing in prayer, spending time with the Lord Jesus, listening to and meditating on His Word, allowing ourselves to be captivated by His beauty, and fostering these dimensions within our initiatives—this is what those involved in youth, family, and, consequently, vocational ministry must absolutely keep firmly in mind.”

Archbishop Redaelli added:

Young people, in fact, thirst for truth, for authenticity, and for meaning in their lives; and they can find this only if they encounter the God of Jesus Christ. Here, then, I would ask myself to what extent this is present ...

We must place great emphasis on this: our primary work must focus on the interior life—within that “inner room” where God sees us in secret, speaks to us, and from where our deepest and most authentic choices emerge.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, expressed solidarity with the Iranian people as he spoke to journalists at a prayer vigil for peace.

“We are close to the Iranian people and to all those who are suffering at this moment,” Cardinal Reina said. “History repeats itself, and there are so many innocent people being crucified.”

The prayer vigil took place on the evening of March 30 in Rome’s Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Cardinal Reina presided at the vigil, during which Cardinal Dominique Mathieu of Tehran prayed for peace.

The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV will carry the cross during the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday evening.

Father Francesco Patton, O.F.M., is writing the meditations for the 14 stations; he served as the custos (Franciscan provincial) of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025.